Parliament on Monday paid tribute to the late Acting President and long-time Nationalist politician Francis Zammit Dimech, who was described as a “serious, but humble person.”

Zammit Dimech died on Easter Monday on 21 April after a long battle with his illness.

“It is not easy to spend 30 years as an MP and live them all with great decorum,” Prime Minister Robert Abela said, expressing his condolences to Zammit Dimech’s family in the strangers’ gallery.

Abela said that he did not know Zammit Dimech well when he was an MP, but he had the privilege of encountering him often at the law courts in past years.

“You could see his main characteristics in his professional and personal lives every day. He was a serious person who never liked confrontation, he was a person who brought about a sense of balance, and avoided a confrontational style,” Abela said.

Abela said that Zammit Dimech was a person who always sought and worked for an agreement.

He said that Francis and his brother, John, had a great bond despite being politically opposed, and Zammit Dimech served his role as Acting President with great pride and joy, as he was a person who loved his country.

“The country lost a gentleman in politics,” Abela said, recalling his visit to Zammit Dimech in hospital a few hours before he passed away.

Abela said that both of them were happy to see and talk to each other, and despite him being weak, Zammit Dimech always had this sense of “educating.”

“The country lost an exemplary person. We all have a great example to follow,” Abela said, adding that the government side of the House expressed its condolences to his family.

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech joined Abela in his condolences towards Zammit Dimech’s family.

Grech said that Zammit Dimech had politics, and the people, at heart, and he was always an innovative and courageous person who made “great revolutions,” especially when he became Minister.

Grech continued that 5 May is the same date as when Zammit Dimech had found out he had been appointed as a member of Cabinet, and he had kept this date in his mobile phone number.

He said that Zammit Dimech was a person who loved the media, and described him as an “expect in media,” with his first discourse being about how media was a medium to deliver the truth to the people, who can then make their own judgements.

Grech said that when he became PN leader, Zammit Dimech was PN secretary general, and he always had a “great sense of humility.”

“He would come to my office and sit in front of me with humbleness. For me, he was a political giant who I looked up to, but he was always humble and understood his role as secretary general,” Grech said.

He continued that Zammit Dimech continued to assist the PN in its cases before the Broadcasting Authority after he left the Secretary General role, and was always a respectable person who knew how to respect.

“His appointment as Acting President was the culmination of his service to the country. He was still in the role when he died, and I have no doubts he would’ve wanted to continue to serve,” Grech said, recalling when he had called him to inform him that Grech and Abela had decided to appoint him as Acting President.

Grech said that he was very disappointed he could not see him in his last hours, but he felt he needed to call the Prime Minister so that he could manage to see him, and was pleased that he did.

“He taught us resilience, respect, having a great love for our country, and a sense of service towards out constituency,” Grech said.

He thanked Zammit Dimech and paid condolences to his family on behalf of the PN, and on behalf of the Maltese and Gozitan public.

Speaker Anglu Farrugia joined the two sides of the House in expressing his condolences to the family, and recalled his experiences with Zammit Dimech.

Farrugia also described him as humble and gentle, and remained serene and tranquil even in his last moments, a day before he died when Farrugia visited.

He recalled a memory at the Vatican, where Zammit Dimech had taken videos with a video camera. It was later stolen, and while Farrugia was worried, Zammit Dimech had tried to convince him that it was not a big deal and had wanted to keep quiet.

Farrugia said Zammit Dimech was meticulous in his work and recalled when he had collaborated with him in committees at the European Parliament.

“He was a person I am pleased to have been close with. I could not attend his funeral, but I feel honoured that I saw him for the last time, and I join all the members in expressing condolences,” Farrugia said.